The Maggot in the Apple — Part I

Chapter 1: Run

I hold my breath in, quivering in fear. I hear them coming closer and closer. Suddenly the footsteps stop, right by the garbage can I am hiding behind. I dare not move, even by an inch, for even the slightest nudge would give me away. I stare straight ahead at the wall in front of me with my hands over my mouth, waiting for what might be my inevitable doom. But the footsteps start again, and I hear their echoes reverberating from down the alley, their intensity decreasing with each step until they finally disappear. I suddenly realize that I’m not breathing, and collapse to the cold, moist dirt as I let the air in my lungs out with a loud whoosh. Paralysed on the floor, I look up at the crescent in the black sky, and feel a tear roll from my eyes over my ears, dissipating into the current mess my hair is in. I can’t handle this anymore. I feel like my heart would puncture itself on my rib cage after beating this hard. But I can’t give up either. I can’t go back to that dark cell. I can’t bear their sick mentality, nor can I tolerate their madness. They had me in this hell for about… how long? I was abused by them for what seemed like an eternity!

Them… I still don’t know who they are, or why they got me here. But I will never be able to forget the agony and humiliation I endured because of their ceaseless torment. I look at my tattered, faded clothes and my battered body, the masterpiece those insane artists were creating ever since that black bag was taken off my head. It gives me determination, a will. I won’t go back, I tell myself. I stand up again, and scout the moonlit alley I am in. Bound by two walls, it stretches to my left almost infinitely and makes a left turn to my right. A shiver runs up my spine as a chilly gust of wind catches me off guard. Then slowly and carefully, I tip-toe down the long path.

I haven’t even taken ten steps when I see the shadow of a humongous humanoid figure on the wall barely a foot ahead of me. At this point I am petrified, frozen in utter horror. The shadow examines me thoroughly, rooting me with its phantom gaze. It then proceeds to become bigger and bigger with an astounding pace. This breaks me from the spell, and I find my feet under me again. I turn around with my blood pounding in my ears and run for my life. His aura of maniacal bloodlust repels me, making me run faster and faster. I dash past the garbage can I previously hid behind, and run for the turn up ahead. As my dwindled body weakly carries me on, I scream to myself. In no world am I going to fall at their feet again, feel anguish course through my body every day and be treated like the maggot in the apple ever again.

I reach and make the turn. And he’s standing there, blocking my way with his massive bulk. In the blink of an eye, his claw-like hands lash out and grab my throat, almost immediately making me see stars. I manage to catch a glimpse of his eyes, and a wave of pure dread engulfs me. Out the corner of my eye, I see his lips curl back in a nasty snarl. I desperately claw at his paw, trying to break loose, but my malnourished frame can’t handle the stress. I drop my hands in despair, as he raises his other hand. One by one he closes his fingers into what seems like a boulder. It’s over, I think to myself, I failed. He pulls his fist back, and in the next second, I find it mere inches from my nose. I feel it touch the cartilage, and then…

This article was written for Festember: The Renaissance by Tejas Harirajan Radhakrishnan